Courtroom miracle: 'Bedridden' man walks out of courthouse

July 15, 2012|Barbara Hijek, FloriDUH

Carl Funk, 58, of Hallandale Beach, was released from jail on Friday the 13th, after appearing before a judge via a jailhouse-courtroom video link, on a trespassing and open-container warrant from 2005, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Two deputies helped Funk to a chair for his hearing, where he explained that he needed a wheelchair and was bedridden saying "I really need to be in my bed and that's where I'll be for the rest of my life," according to the report.

Funk explained to the judge how he trespassed while bedridden, saying that two unknown men had carried him out of his home to a neighbor's property, triggering the violation.

He also had no recollection of holding an open container of alcohol.

A sympathetic judge set bond at $100 and jokingly told Funk that his courtroom was "defendant-friendly" before bidding the man "Good luck, Funk."

The bedridden man then stood up and walked away with the aid of a walker.